Strange airline pricing
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 661
Strange airline pricing
I booked a roundtrip coach seat recently from LAX-PTY-SJO. But what I noticed is that when I searched for just the LAX-PTY roundtrip segment (exact same flights and exact dates/times) it was actually twice as expensive as the LAX-PTY-SJO itierary. This makes no sense to me We are talking about the exact same flight plus an additional sector on inbound/outbound is half as expensive.
#2
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Demand is what guides pricing. Distance flown has much less of an impact on cost. That's why a flight from Toronto to Hanoi can be as cheap as $400USD rt while YYZ to LAX can be $500.
#3
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In addition, airlines know that demand is stronger for non-stop flights (such as LAX-SJO), so airlines will often price connecting flights (such as LAX-PTY-SJO) lower, to compete better with the (more-desirable) non-stop flights.
#5
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OP - There are thousands of such fare structures and they are far from strange.
Prices are not set on a $ per mile basis, but rather on supply & demand. If a carrier can't charge enough to make a profit overall, it will eventually cut capacity or go bankrupt. But, practically speaking there is no relationship between distance covered, route, or many other factors.
Prices are not set on a $ per mile basis, but rather on supply & demand. If a carrier can't charge enough to make a profit overall, it will eventually cut capacity or go bankrupt. But, practically speaking there is no relationship between distance covered, route, or many other factors.
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#10
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Prices on the California corridor (LA area to bay area) have plummeted in the last few weeks. Flights that used to be $120-200 each way are now often $70 or less. There has been no discernible change to either supply or demand. All that happened was one airline decided to start a fare war and others followed.
#11
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This is very true. The airline market is an oligopoly.
Prices on the California corridor (LA area to bay area) have plummeted in the last few weeks. Flights that used to be $120-200 each way are now often $70 or less. There has been no discernible change to either supply or demand. All that happened was one airline decided to start a fare war and others followed.
Prices on the California corridor (LA area to bay area) have plummeted in the last few weeks. Flights that used to be $120-200 each way are now often $70 or less. There has been no discernible change to either supply or demand. All that happened was one airline decided to start a fare war and others followed.
#12
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It depends on whether the strange airline has to compete with a normal airline and what kind of premium people are willing to pay to get an airline that isn't so....weird.
(Sorry, that was just sitting there...)
(Sorry, that was just sitting there...)